“Yes. There is one way. Oh, Leonard, in this time of trouble and anxiety I have watched you day by day. I have found the man beneath the scholar. If I had accepted your offer three weeks ago, it would have been out of respect for the scholar. But a woman can only love a man--not a scholar, believe me, nor a student, nor a poet, nor an artist, nor anything except a man.” “Constance! It is impossible! You are his daughter.” “It is fortunate that I am, as you say, the daughter of the man who was killed. He suffered less than the other. The suffering was but a pang, but the other’s--oh, it was a lifelong agony! If I marry the son of the man who did the wrong, it is because the message I carried to the dying man was a sign that all was forgiven, even to “‘the third and fourth generation.’” “Tell me, Constance, is this pity, or----” “Oh, Leonard, I know not what flowers there are which grow out of pity and sympathy, but----” She said no more, because there was no need. THE END. * * * * * Typographical errors corrected by the etext transcriber: When the botle=> When the bottle {pg 15} must meeet and=> must meet and {pg 35} Algernoon was frequently=> Algernon was frequently {pg 56} lines of conquence=> lines of consequence {pg 129} when it the children left it=> when it the children left it {pg 142} be will lie there and suffer=> he will lie there and suffer {pg 153} has ever been been known=> has ever been known {pg 186} yov spare the time=> you spare the time {pg 265} to reach the the wood=> to reach the wood {pg 297} End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Fourth Generation, by Walter Besant